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Topic: Crossfire Mission Contest VOTING! (Read 3689 times)

Sorry to be a little delayed on this, but the time for voting in the Crossfire Mission contest has come! The procedure is simple: First, check out the submissions in this thread here. Peruse them and play them if you haven't already, then come back to this thread and post your votes! We'd like to see your top three favorites in both the Fan Favorites and Wildest Ride categories (see descriptions in this blog post), so your ballot should look like this:

I'lll put mine out publically, in case anyone was hesitant to try any of the missions.

Fan Favourites1 - The Specialists, by user Dancer. I thought this would be a good mission to grind on, and I was pleasantly surprised in a handful of ways. For one, I really like the ramp-up and ease of playability. I like that it sort of teaches you the roles that you an expect in a (somewhat) controlled environment. I like that it is easily rplayable, but not exactly 'grindable.' Shadrowrun can be all about the unexpected, sure, but I found that this particular mission was a good representation of what the SR:Returns video game is. You have these specific challenges that you can scope out and come to understand, but that does not necessarily mean that everything is going to go smoothly. My SO and I had a great 20-game run of this mission with only five or so successes.

2 - The Heist, by user CHINCB. This campaign set is brilliant. As of this posting it is in its fourth revsion, and although I am unfamiliar with its previous iterations, i can say that it is pretty great. This also earns the top spot on my 'Wildest Ride,' because of how much wild fun it really is. I really enjoy being able to maintain some of my deck from mission to mission, and it felt like I had stronger/more thematic character progression throughout this three mission campaign.I like how there are some really tough chummers in the first mission- like the Red Samurai- who can enforce the feeling of Everything Could Go Wrong.

3 - Corporate Wetwork, by user Alex Ender. After 'lInto the Ork underground,' I was itching for more thematic encounters. This one certainly delivered for us, hitting on all the points Weyland does for us in Android Netrunner.

Wildest Ride

1 - Now, I really only have the one, but it definitely earns the top spot. The Heist, for all the reasons listed above. This one is just fantastic.

Fan Favorite:1. Specialists by Dancer Fantastic mission! Works well for all Karma levels, player counts, and role combinations. I appreciated the different pacing of control to chaos, which also added a new decision layer, as you must make sacrifices in the first scene to prevent chaos in the second. The only downside is that it takes a while to set up, but is well worth it. Also, the custom Crossfire deck is a nice touch and shows how much thought and passion went into designing this mission.

2. The Heist by CHINCB This is the type of mission many people have been waiting for. I loved the campaign-like feel, and thought the build-up of character decks between missions was handled well. The custom obstacles are well designed, with each mission feeling quite different from the others. Unfortunately, it is a bit rules heavy and not friendly to all groups (Decker and Karma required), but this doesnít prevent it from being fun and engaging.

3. Corporate Wetwork by Alex Ender Good theme and an exciting boss fight. The Drake Assassin is a perfect choice here, due to his damage variety and attrition mechanics. The reinforcement rules are a little clunky in the four player version, but keep tension up without raising difficulty level. My only real complaint is that the final fight can be wildly inconsistent; one time he was down in two turns, another he took twenty. Still, this is now part of our regular rotation.

4. (Honorable Mention) Cache Out by Keithric See below. (2nd place for Wildest Ride)

Wildest Ride:1. Data Grab by Kiirnodel Push your luck! This mission has a solid rules-backed theme, and a riveting new choice layer that has you balancing reward and ruin. Tying the payout to damage level is very clever, as it encourages taking on tougher obstacles. The main drawback here is requiring a Decker and more than two players, but that isnít asking too much.

2. Cache Out by Keithric Another interesting new choice layer here: Loot! This entry provides unique pacing from other missions by throwing Hard Obstacles at you from the start. It felt like raiding an armory and blasting your way out with what you stole. The reinforcements can be unbalanced for two players, but nothing a slight rules tweak wouldnít fix. Again, huge plus that it is friendly to all Karma levels and player counts.

3. Gangs Attack by Jamelfr Good narrative, with Bonus Objective rules to back it up. I was happy to see these boons balanced with consequences later, but feel like I would still go for them every time. The Discard or Damage decision is exciting, but led to Analysis Paralysis with our group more than once.

4. (Honorable Mention) Run of your Life by Alex Ender Risking Perma-Death for a big reward is a fun twist, but this really deserves a mention for the case carrying mechanics. Having a Case count toward your hand size and forcing a drop on Staggered is perfect. Meanwhile, requiring two cases slows down a four player team without punishing a single runner too harshly. The big issue I had with this mission was how random finding the cases can be. You could run into them in Scene Two, or not reach them until Scene Ten. Huge variance!

Well, those are my votes; I canít wait to see the final results. Good luck to everyone who entered!

3. Gangs Attack by Jamelfr Good narrative, with Bonus Objective rules to back it up. I was happy to see these boons balanced with consequences later, but feel like I would still go for them every time. The Discard or Damage decision is exciting, but led to Analysis Paralysis with our group more than once.

......

Well, the vote period should be over now, so I guess it's okay to leave a message here (sorry if it is not).

Thanks for your vote. It is cool to know that people actually played one of my missions. I am sorry to hear that Analysis Paralysis occured during your games. When I was testing the mission, the choice between discarding or taking the damage was usually simple : discard if one runner is near staggering. But I can see some situations where the decision might be tougher to make (eg. some runners lost too much health even if the boons were gained).